Casecnan operator averts auction, pays P250-M taxes

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Yesterday’s scheduled public auction of the facilities of the Casecnan multi-purpose irrigation and power project was averted after the US firm California Energy (Cal-Energy), which owns and operates it, finally settled its P250-million real property tax obligation to the provincial government.

Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma immediately asked the provincial board to allocate funds from Cal-Energy’s real property tax payment for the provincial government’s anti-illegal logging campaign in the Casecnan forest reserves.

"We are very thankful that finally California Energy has settled its tax obligation with this province. I know from the very start that the US firm is really committed to help the province in its development undertakings," she said.

Representatives of Cal-Energy personally delivered the check amounting to P250,734,306.98, representing the real property taxes and penalties since the Casecnan project became operational in 2001, last Monday, a day before the scheduled public auction.

Earlier, the regional trial court here denied Cal-Energy’s petition for a temporary restraining order for the public bidding of its facilities and properties.

Cal-Energy earlier had insisted that the National Irrigation Administration should pay the real property taxes under their supplemental memorandum of agreement.

Citing provisions of the Local Government Code, the provincial government, however, said Cal-Energy should settle the tax obligation, being the owner and operator of the Casecnan project.

Earlier, lawyer Desiderio Perez, provincial legal officer, said at least two companies had expressed interest in taking part in the public auction.

Should there be no qualified bidders, he said the provincial government would automatically take over the Casecnan project and that Cal-Energy would have one year within which it could redeem its facilities and properties.

"But everything is now moot and academic after the US firm settled its real property taxes," he said.   

Cuaresma asked Mayor Alfredo Castillo of Alfonso Castañeda town which hosts the Casecnan project, to allocate livelihood funds for his constituents, especially the Bugkalot tribal folk, who live within the project’s impact zone.

Aside from irrigating more than 600,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon and some parts of western Pangasinan, the $10.5-million Casecnan project also generates at least 500 megawatts for the Luzon grid.  

Constructed under a 25-year build-operate-transfer scheme, the Casecnan project siphons waters from the Casecnan and Taal Rivers in the towns of Alfonso Castañeda and Dupax del Sur and divert them through a 36-kilometer tunnel to the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.